Pellston's Kerr signs to play at Concordia University-Ann Arbor

Thursday

Jan 31, 2013 at 10:48 PM

After long consideration over several colleges, Kerr signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football at Concordia University-Ann Arbor on Thursday afternoon. Kerr, the team's leader on the offensive line this past fall, didn't hesitate to show how he felt on Thursday. “It feels good to sign this letter because you can say you proved everyone wrong,” said Kerr, the son of Bill and Jenny Kerr.

Jared Greenleaf

By JARED GREENLEAFsports@cheboygantribune.comPELLSTON — Baylon Kerr has heard all the negatives. Ever since the Pellston senior offensive lineman strapped on his uniform, he's heard the pessimistic perception about Hornets football. "The thing is that no matter where I look in Pellston, everyone has a sort of mindset that if you go to Pellston, you can't play college football," said Kerr. "I had many people tell me I couldn't do it, and you don't go to a big enough school, and being told I wasn't fast enough, and it all just fired me up to be a better player."With one sign of the dotted line, Kerr proved all of his critics wrong in the most emphatic way possible. After long consideration over several colleges, Kerr signed a National Letter of Intent to play college football at Concordia University-Ann Arbor on Thursday afternoon. Kerr, the team's leader on the offensive line this past fall, didn't hesitate to show how he felt on Thursday. "It feels good to sign this letter because you can say you proved everyone wrong," said Kerr, the son of Bill and Jenny Kerr.Kerr had several options on the table, including such schools as Alma College (MI.), who was a big contender, as well as Trinity International University (IL.), a school just outside of Chicago, Olivet College (MI.), Hope College (MI.) and Tiffin University (OH.) Most schools appealed to Kerr, but it was Concordia who proved to be the winner. "I actually had two schools I had it narrowed down to, and then Concordia came in very late in the recruiting process, and I totally changed my decision to Concordia," said Kerr, who committed to Concordia on Dec. 15. "Just because of the feel when I got onto campus during the summer time, the new head coach, the rebuilding program, and that was a big relief and it was everything I was looking for. I wanted to make sure it was the right fit because they're recruiting me, but also I'm recruiting them to see if I fit down there and if it's the right team. It's diversity down there, and there's a lot of kids down there, so that meant a lot to me.""It's a huge relief. It feels good to actually sign for a school and know I'll be able to play college football, which has been my dream since freshman year."Like any recruiting process, Kerr wanted to make sure he was making the right choice. Through contact with new Concordia head coach Lonnie Pries, along with finding out more about the university in a whole, Kerr knew Concordia was right for him. "It was a feeling thing," said Kerr, who plans to major in marketing or business at Concordia. "It was just talking with the coach. I didn't want a coach who was just going to call me, offer me a scholarship, and I wasn't going to ever hear from him again. I wanted a coach who was going to be a fatherly figure since I would be spending four years down there. I was really going back and forth with it, and I sat down with my parents, we went through the pros and cons, and I said, 'You know what? I think Concordia's where I think I want to go', and I called them that night and verbally committed, and they had a Letter of Intent in the mail the next day."Nothing has been easy for Kerr in his time at Pellston. He has endured multiple losing seasons, including pair of 1-8 records during his freshman and junior campaignsOnce new Pellston coach Ben Schley arrived last summer, Kerr saw plenty of change in the Pellston football philosophy. But even as Schley switched to a Wing-T offense, it didn't matter to a fast learner like Kerr. Instead, he caught on quickly. As a senior, Kerr helped improve the Hornets' offensive line, guiding them to one of the more potent rushing attacks in the Ski Valley Conference. The Hornets improved drastically as a team, compiling a 4-5 overall record, which included a memorable 4-0 start to the season. For his efforts, Kerr received All Ski Valley Conference honors for the 2012 season. "Coach Schley really taught me what the game was all about," Kerr said. "He also taught us how to hold yourself off the field, and that helped big-time, because before we never knew how much those little kids look up to us, and Coach Schley actually taught us about that. Coach Schley had a big help in my recruiting process."When he arrives to Concordia next season, Kerr is hoping to be one of many recruits to revive a program that went 0-9 the previous season. Academics are also important to Kerr, who wants to make the All-Academic (3.25 grade point average or higher) team. Despite coaching Kerr for only one season, Schley already knows what kind of player Concordia coaches should expect. "They're getting a player that is second to none as far as work ethic," Schley said. "He comes in and gives it 100 percent every day. It doesn't matter whether it's going to football practice or to work out, he's going to give it 100 percent no matter what."Next season, Kerr will get his shot to make an impact at Concordia. He also plans to bring many intangibles he acquired in high school."The big thing is—one thing I did at Pellston—is I played with passon," Kerr explained. "People came to see me because I had so much passion, and this is what I loved to do is play football. I want to bring that to Concordia because I never play the game for my stats, my individual stats. As an offensive lineman, I want to bring my leadership, my passion. I want to be that person that—even though I'll be a freshman—I want to be a captain. I know it's a huge goal because usually in college, it's juniors and seniors, but I want to step up and be that person that comes in with that passion and that mindset."